Scarlett Hale
by robotictia4
Summary: Scarlett Hale and James McCall are all grown up. A staged kiss leads to bigger and better things. (AKA Stiles and Derek's daughter is all grown up and falling in love.)


**A/N:** This is about Scarlett Hale, Derek and Stiles' daughter from my fic 'My Future is Yours' and you probably won't care about this story unless you've read that, just as a warning.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf or its characters.**

Scarlett Hale had never been in love.

It wasn't as if she hadn't given it a try—she'd gone out several times before and had a total of three boyfriends in her seventeen years of life.

Her first relationship had been when she was thirteen, with a boy named Jake Miller. He was nice enough, she supposed, but he'd been too nervous around her—like he was scared of her. Sometimes, it seemed that Jake was terrified to be around her…and it didn't help that her dad scowled and growled at him every time they spent time together at Scarlett's house. Suffice to say, the relationship hadn't lasted very long—about four months, total.

Scarlett's second relationship started up halfway through sophomore year, with Travis Compton. He'd been the exact opposite of Jake—too confident in himself and sure as all hell that there was no conceivable way Scarlett would ever dump him. When he cheated on her with one of their classmates, he found out just how wrong he was. Scarlett left him in the dust and was always ready with a sassy remark for those days when Travis thought he could get her back. They'd lasted two months.

The third and most recent relationship Scarlett had engaged in was just a year previous, when she was sixteen, with Andy Wells. Andy had been just the right combination of nervous and confident, with an alright personality and high IQ. Scarlett had been content with Andy, but...he couldn't tell—or take—a joke to save his life. Scarlett herself had more than enough humor for the both of them, but Andy just didn't get her like people in relationships were supposed to—like her parents understood each other. Andy lasted longer than Jake or Travis at a groundbreaking six months.

There was also one thing all three relationships had in common.

Jealousy.

Everyone in Beacon Hills knew that James McCall and Scarlett Hale were a duo. You couldn't tear the childhood best friends apart because it was impossible. If anyone tried, they were quickly put in their place. The people they dated found their close friendship incredibly unsettling and each had handled their jealousy in different ways.

Jake, who was a shaky guy anyway, trembled and stuttered whenever Scarlett invited James over to hang out.

Travis had puffed out his chest and consistently tried to prove himself a manlier boy than James, losing miserably each time.

Andy had been pretty okay with it all, all things considered, but Scarlett had been able to detect the slight traces of jealousy in his eyes…even if he said nothing.

Maybe they were right to be jealous, though.

After all, Jamie had been her first kiss.

It had happened when Jamie and Scarlett were twelve. Jamie had been over at Scarlett's house and, after promising to be incredibly careful and bring concealed weapons along with them in the woods, they'd found a clearing where they could lay down in the grass and look at the stars.

They'd been lying with their heads right beside each other, bodies facing in opposite directions. Scarlett supposed the kiss never would've happened if she hadn't spoken.

"Jamie, have you ever kissed anyone?" she asked. She turned her head just in time to see Jamie's nose scrunch and eyebrows furrow.

"No. Why?" Scarlett shrugged.

"I don't know. It's just something I've been thinking about lately. It seems that kissing is all anyone can talk about. The amount of times I've had to listen to Macie Greenburg tell and retell her first kiss story with Peter Danes is sickening." Jamie laughed.

"You're not the only one. Macie's brother won't shut up about his girlfriend in eighth grade, who let him kiss her with tongue." It was Scarlett's turn to scrunch her nose.

"People are weird."

"Agreed," Jamie said with a sigh.

"Why is everyone in a rush to kiss someone, anyway? I want my first kiss to be with someone special—someone I care about."

Jamie seemed to seriously consider her words.

"W…we could kiss," he said quietly. Scarlett sat straight up. He joined her a second later, swinging his body around so they could sit side-by-side.

"What?" Scarlett asked. Jamie shrugged.

"You want your first kiss to be with someone you care about, right? Well, I do too. And I care about you. I wouldn't go bragging about it to the whole school like Macie and her brother." Scarlett thought. Jamie wasn't wrong. Scarlett cared about Jamie and Jamie cared about her just as much.

Was there anyone better to have her first kiss with?

Scarlett found herself nodding, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"Okay." Jamie's eyebrows rose.

"Okay?" Scarlett nodded again.

"Alright. Just don't tell your dad. I'm pretty sure he'd skin me alive." Scarlett and Jamie both laughed.

"Pops wouldn't kill you—he loves you." Jamie rolled his eyes.

"Let's just do the kissing thing." Scarlett chuckled.

"Such a romantic, Jamie," she said, fluttering her eyelashes. Jamie rolled his eyes a second time.

"Shut up." Scarlett quieted and turned to face Jamie, all traces of humor gone. For a moment they just looked at each other. Jamie broke the tension with a smirk.

"I know I'm incredibly good-looking, Scar, but I believe we had an agreement." Scarlett laughed, but Jamie's face suddenly turned worried.

"You know you don't have to kiss me, right? Like I won't—"

Scarlett cut him off by swiftly swooping in and pressing her lips to his. Scarlett felt her stomach swirling—kind of like it did when she was nervous. Was that feeling what Macie had described as 'butterflies'?

Scarlett pulled away first, feeling her cheeks burn. Jamie's eyes were still closed. After a few seconds, he slowly opened them. Scarlett cleared her throat.

"How was that for a first kiss?" she teased, hoping that the strange feelings would go away. Jamie huffed a laugh and ran a hand through his slowly lengthening dark hair and smiled.

"I don't know. I think you could use some work." Scarlett gaped in mock-outrage.

"Excuse me? At least I didn't sit there like a corpse!" Jamie's jaw dropped open.

"Hey!" he shouted with a laugh, shoving her.

Things went back to normal after that and they both acted as if it had never happened, though Scarlett still occasionally got that weird twisting in her stomach around Jamie, growing in frequency as they grew older.

Scarlett pulled out from her memories when the door to the passenger's side of her car. Jamie had pulled himself in, backpack on the floorboard. He shook his hair out, causing droplets of rain to spatter all over the interior of the car.

"Whoa! I know you're a werewolf, Jamie, but can you not ruin my car?" Jamie rolled his eyes.

"If you're not careful, I'll rub my wet hair all over this thing!" he exclaimed. Scarlett raised an eyebrow as she peeled away from the curb in front of the McCall house.

"And if you're not careful, I'll stop giving you rides to and from school and you can walk through the rain, get soaked and get sick as hell." Jamie paused.

"Touché, my friend." Scarlett laughed.

"Though I suppose I could always take the bus…" Jamie muttered.

"Oh yeah, and get hounded by Shannon O'Malley," Scarlett teased, laughing when Jamie's cheeks turned bright red.

Shannon O'Malley was one in a long line of girls who chased after Jamie but couldn't seem to understand the fact that he wasn't interested in them. Most gave up after a few weeks or months. Shannon, however, had been after Jamie since they were all freshmen at Beacon Hills High. One of the main reasons for Jamie's dislike of Shannon was the fact that Shannon and Scarlett detested each other.

Shannon hated Scarlett because she'd thought Scarlett was Jamie's girlfriend and because Scarlett spent almost all of her time with Jamie. Scarlett didn't like Shannon because she didn't know how to handle a guy not being interested in her and, as a result, kept chasing and chasing…and also because Shannon kept bothering her best friend.

"Okay, disregard the bus. You're a goddess among teenage girls and I will worship the ground you walk on if you continue driving me to school." Scarlett laughed loudly, tossing her hair back.

"That's more like it."

Scarlett pulled into the school parking lot and got out with Jamie. She immediately noticed Shannon and Jamie's ex-girlfriend, Delilah, conspiring near the front entrance. Jamie had apparently noticed too, because he froze in his tracks.

Scarlett grabbed his hand and shot a glare at the other girls and walked over to the front entrance. She was blocked by Shannon. Scarlett raised an eyebrow, tugging Jamie forward.

"Sorry, ladies, but Prince Charming over here has to get to Chemistry," she said, moving Shannon aside and pulling Jamie into the school. She let go of his hand as soon as they were inside, clutching the straps of her backpack.

"Thanks, Scar."

"No problem. But really, Jamie, you need to start holding your own ground. Stop being so nice. Tell them what you want—or in this case, don't want. What happens when we go off to college? I won't be around to scare them all off." Jamie's face scrunched in a frown.

"Yes you will. We're going to the same college." Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"Okay, fair point, but we're going to have different classes and I can't always be there to hold your hand and pull you past the string of lionesses waiting to pounce on you like a baby gazelle." Jamie gave her a disgusted face.

"Thank you, Scarlett, for that vivid imagery." Scarlett shot him a grin.

"Always a pleasure." Jamie sighed and they headed to Chemistry together, sitting at their table in the back.

"Do you mind helping me plot? Your ideas are usually better." Scarlett quirked an eyebrow.

"Usually? My plans are always better." Jamie crossed his arms and gave her a look.

"Oh really? How about that one time you thought it was a good idea to listen to your dad's police scanner and go hunting for the criminal, Sherlock Holmes style?" Scarlett's expression didn't change.

"I was ten. Seventeen-year-old Scarlett's ideas are much better." Jamie crossed his arms. Scarlett scowled.

"Do you want my help or not?" she snapped. Jamie held his hands up.

"Alright. No need to rip my head off." Scarlett smirked and leaned forward to rest her elbows on their lab space, folding her fingers together and tapping her lips with her two pointer fingers. She barely noticed the bell ringing and the teacher talking.

"I've got it," Scarlett murmured. Jamie opened his notebook and wrote the notes down on the left hand side, leaving the right hand side of the notebook free for Scarlett to write down her plan.

When she was finished, she took a glance down at Jamie's notes and picked up where he'd left off in order to read what she'd written. Mr. Lewis was a total bore, but Scarlett was fairly good at pretending that she cared what he had to say. She saw Jamie's hand move across the paper from the corner and glanced over to read what he'd written.

Okay, so the idea isn't awful. Where exactly am I going to find a fake girlfriend, though? The girls here are either pack—no one would believe it, part of Shannon and Delilah's 'James McCall Fan Club' or are terrified of getting on Shannon's bad side.

Scarlett heaved a great sigh. Honestly, her best friend was kind of an idiot sometimes. She quickly scrawled a message in response, sure to include a healthy dose of sarcasm. Jamie shot her a glare after reading what she'd written.

The sarcasm was unnecessary. You could've just said 'I could pretend to be your girlfriend, Jamie'. I guess it's believable enough—half the school already thinks we're secretly dating anyway.

They'd held hands on more than one occasion, had kissed before. Other than those minute details that went into relationships, the rest wouldn't even need to be faked. Pretending to be Jamie's girlfriend wouldn't be hard. And Scarlett had to admit that she was looking forward to the look on Shannon's and Delilah's faces when they heard.

At least half the reason Jamie had ended it with Delilah was because she had been wary of his friendship with Scarlett and had demanded that he choose between Scarlett and Delilah. Jamie had chosen Scarlett.

"How are we going to prove it, though? Convince the other half of the school that we're together?" Scarlett questioned quietly. Jamie shrugged and focused on one spot in the classroom, thinking. Scarlett could tell he'd gotten an idea when he straightened and adjusted his seat. Scarlett kept her eyes on Mr. Lewis.

"We could—"

Mr. Lewis interrupted Jamie.

"Hale! McCall! Is there something the two of you would like to tell the rest of the class?" Mr. Lewis said, face going red with irritation.

"No, Sir. We were just discussing the differences between covalent and ionic bonds. We're sorry for the disruption. Please, continue. I'm very interested in atomic structuring." Scarlett said smoothly. Mr. Lewis blinked.

"There is a time and place for chat, Miss Hale," he said weakly. Scarlett nodded gravely.

"It won't happen again, Sir." By which, she meant that it would happen many more times. Jamie was scrawling a phrase down onto the notebook paper—what'd he been about to say, most likely. Scarlett looked down to read it before raising an eyebrow and shifting her gaze to her best friend. Jamie shrugged in response.

We could kiss in front of them.

She supposed it made sense. They'd kissed before and it had been no big deal. Scarlett was still hesitant, despite the logical arguments running through her mind. Her stomach twisted.

Then she thought of the looks on the girls' faces and how it would help Jamie get them off his back.

Okay.

They discussed when they would do it and that was the end of that.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, given that they had agreed to kiss the next day, in the parking lot. To set off the rumor mill, however, they held hands almost the entire day, walked each other to their classes and smiled and joked more than usual.

Scarlett started laughing about it when they got in her car after school. Jamie shook his head at her, though he was smiling too.

"They're so gullible," Scarlett said. Jamie shrugged and nodded, laughing a little. Scarlett dropped him off at his house and waited for him to get in before driving off to her house.

The minute she walked in, she knew she was going to have to end up going to Jamie's house. The house smelled like her papa's favorite foods, which could mean one of two things. It was either Pops' birthday or it was his anniversary with Dad. Given that his birthday hadn't come up yet, Scarlett would have to bet that meant it was her parents' anniversary.

Which meant she needed to be out of the house immediately.

Before she could turn and drive back to Jamie's, Dad walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a hand towel. He grinned at her.

"Hey Scar," he said cheerfully. She winced.

"Hey, Dad. I was just going to Jamie's." She wanted to be out of the house as soon as possible. Werewolf ears weren't exactly a blessing in her family.

"That's probably a good idea. Would you mind letting Caleb and Jocelyn know?" Dad asked, not bothering to hide what was going to go down that night. Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"I would never let my precious siblings walk in on such a thing." Dad grinned. Scarlett frowned. She couldn't sense Pops anywhere.

"Where's Pops?" she asked. Dad shrugged.

"He said he had to go do something. He'll be back soon, I think." Scarlett nodded and waved her goodbye, practically running to her car. She sent quick texts to Caleb and Joss warning them to stay away from the house before calling Jamie to let him know that she needed to spend the night.

When she got to Jamie's house, he gave her a sympathetic look and pulled her inside the house.

"At least you get a warning," he pointed out helpfully. Scarlett wrinkled her nose.

"I don't really think that helps with the grossed out factor, though." Jamie shrugged. Uncle Scott spotted her before Aunt Kira and waved.

"Hey Scarlett, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Anniversary," was the only thing she had to say. Scott's face twisted and he dropped the subject. Scarlett followed Jamie up the stairs to his room. She dumped her backpack in one of the corners and flopped over onto his bed.

"You should really clean up in here," Scarlett said, eyeing the trash littering the desk and bookshelves. Jamie rolled his eyes.

"Says the girl whose room is literally a tornado. I'm surprised you even know what clean is." Scarlett stuck her tongue out at him, prompting a laugh from Jamie. He swiped the wrappers into the trash can in his room, regardless. Scarlett grinned.

"Video games?" she suggested. Jamie gave her a look. She recognized that one. It was the same one he got when she tried to get out of studying for a test by distracting him. It never worked.

"Homework first. Then video games." Scarlett sighed.

"Fine, Dad," she said. Jamie tossed her backpack at her. It landed on her stomach.

"Watch it! I have my Calculus book in there, you dinglehopper." Jamie raised an eyebrow.

"Did you just make an insult out of a word from a Disney movie?" he asked. Scarlett nodded.

"You bet your ass I did. I don't know why you're surprised. We both know I'm obsessed with Disney." Jamie nodded, plopping down beside her with his History homework.

After ten minutes of homework, Scarlett grew bored and started bugging Jamie by poking him and attempting to tickle him. He just batted her hands away.

"If you don't finish your homework, I won't play with you." Scarlett scowled.

"I'm not a child, Jamie." Jamie looked at her with raised eyebrows. Scarlett frowned at him, crossing her arms.

"I faintly remember you being more fun. Where'd Fun Jamie go?" she asked. Jamie rolled his eyes.

"On vacation until you finish your homework."

Scarlett sighed, but returned to her homework. Once she set her mind to it, it was fairly easy to accomplish and soon she had finished, waiting for Jamie to finish his. She hung upside down, crossing her legs and leaning them against the wall. After about ten or fifteen minutes, Jamie finally finished his homework.

The second he set his papers down, Scarlett raised her legs over her head and rolled toward the door, leaping to her feet. Jamie shook his head.

"This is no time for acrobatics." Scarlett laughed and pulled him out the door, down the stairs and into the living room to play one of the many video games that were stacked beneath the TV.

The only person in the living room was Marnie, Jamie's little sister. Her legs hung over the arm of the armchair she was sitting in, relaxing and texting someone. She looked up to smile and wave at Scarlett before returning to her phone.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" Jamie asked. Marnie shrugged.

"I don't know. I think they might've gone to the grocery store or something."

Scarlett plopped onto the couch, waiting for Jamie to boot up the gaming system.

"Who are you texting, Miss Marnie?" she asked. Marnie rolled her eyes.

"It's just Hannah. She's having boy troubles." Scarlett winced and immediately backed out of the conversation, much to Marnie's and Jamie's amusement. Relationship talks weren't her thing. Jamie handed her one of the controllers and started the game.

Almost the instant the game loaded, the trash-talking had started. Scarlett was winning from the get-go and was taking the opportunity to rub it in Jamie's face. Marnie laughed loudly at the insults Scarlett and Jamie were throwing at each other. They had agreed on three rounds, to determine the ultimate winner.

When Scarlett won the last round, she dropped the controller to the couch and leaped up to do a little victory dance in the spot. Then she bent down to be eye-level with Jamie and started jabbing her fingers in the direction of his face. Jamie looked like he was trying to be irritated. He was obviously failing, as he was smiling and shaking his head at Scarlett.

Then, he grabbed her arm and pulled her down to his lap and started tickling her. Scarlett scooted closer towards the other end of the couch, but Jamie simply gripped her wrists with one hand and used to the other to continue his attack on her sides. Scarlett laughed even as she was trying to get him to quit it.

"Marnie! Attack!" Scarlett shouted, still shrieking with laughter. Marnie shook her head and stood.

"I don't think I'm old enough to be witnessing this," was her reply before jogging up the stairs.

Scarlett suddenly grinned and used her strength to flip them over so that she was hovering over Jamie, though he still held her wrists captive.

"C'mon, Jamie. Let go," she said. Jamie's lips quirked, but he released her wrists and they returned to sitting positions. For a moment, there was nothing but silence.

"So…one more round?" Scarlett asked with a grin. Jamie grinned back.

"You're on."

They wound up playing for four more hours, giving Uncle Scott and Aunt Kira plenty of time to return from their mysterious trip and night to descend. Finally, they decided it was time to give gaming a rest and actually get some sleep.

"Hey can I borrow some pajamas?" Scarlett said. Jamie nodded and tossed a pair of Lion King pajama bottoms and a shirt with the phrase 'Talk Nerdy To Me' on it. Scarlett frowned.

"These aren't yours," she observed. Jamie nodded.

"I meant to give them to you for Christmas, but I lost them and couldn't find them until about a week ago." Scarlett nodded.

"Well, thank you then. You know me so well." Jamie smirked at her.

"We have been friends all our lives. I mean if I hadn't picked up a thing or two by now…well, that would just be sad." Scarlett laughed.

"True. Goodnight, Jamie." Jamie responded in kind before Scarlett moved down the hall to the spare room. Hopefully, she still had some clothes stored in the drawer to wear tomorrow. The pajamas Jamie had gotten for her were comfy as all hell and she spent a moment just taking in how soft and comfortable they were before actually snuggling down in the bed and falling asleep.

The only reason Scarlett woke up for school the next morning was because Jamie came in and smacked a pillow in her face. Scarlett at straight up.

"What the f—"

"It's time for you to wake up. So get up." Scarlett scowled, but stood up and searched the drawers for clothes she'd brought over. Thankfully, she found several articles of clothing there.

After a quick shower, she slipped into jeans, a graphic tee, sneakers and her leather jacket before grabbing her stuff and jogging downstairs to meet up with Jamie. She brought her hands to the edges of her jacket and held it out from her body.

"I have been looking for this for weeks! Remind me not to leave my favorite jacket at your house." Jamie rolled his eyes.

"Marnie! You want a ride?" Scarlett called out. Marnie appeared with her backpack over her shoulders. "Nah. I'm going to ride the bus with Hannah. She still needs to talk and I am nothing if not a good friend." She walked past her brother and Scarlett, turning only to wave.

Scarlett and Jamie got in the car and Jamie reminded her of their agreement.

"It's not that hard to remember, Jamie. We go into the parking lot, make sure Shannon, Delilah and all their followers are watching and then I plant one on you." Jamie frowned at her.

"Who says you're initiating?" he asked. Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"You're not that…forward. Do I need to remind you who kissed who when we were twelve?" Jamie looked scandalized.

"I was twelve! I've had girlfriends since then," he pointed out. Scarlett laughed.

"Correction—you've had one girlfriend and that girl was Delilah. Not exactly a shining moment in your life, my friend." Jamie narrowed his eyes at her, but dropped the subject. The ride was short and soon enough Scarlett was parking.

She walked in front of her car, scouting for Shannon and Delilah. Sure enough, they were stationed at the school's entrance again, watching Scarlett and Jamie like hawks.

"Okay, Jamie, you—"

She was cut off when two hands grabbed the bottom of her jacket and pulled her in. Jamie ducked in to press his lips to hers. Admittedly, Scarlett was shocked because—as she'd said in the car—Jamie just wasn't forward. Jamie was quiet and mild-mannered and polite. He flicked his tongue over her lower lip and Scarlett allowed it—after all, Shannon and her harpies weren't likely to back down with just a quick peck on the lips.

Scarlett's hands wound their way up Jamie's shoulders to cross at the wrist behind his head. Jamie pulled her in closer and Scarlett found herself forgetting about Shannon and Delilah and the other girls. All that existed in that moment were her, Jamie and the point at which their lips were connected. Jamie squeezed her hip as a sign that he was pulling away before detaching with a smirk.

Scarlett swallowed. Okay, so she hadn't counted on Jamie actually being a decent kisser…or an initiator. Her stomach twisted the same way it did when Jamie was looking particularly handsome.

To keep up the act, she smiled—hiding the shock—and unwound her hands from behind his head to lace their fingers together and grip his arm. Jamie just looked spectacularly pleased with himself.

"Stop looking so smug. You're still an idiot," she muttered. Jamie laughed.

"You're just jealous that I'm a better kisser than you." Scarlett gaped at him.

"Excuse me? I know you're not doubting my kissing skills." Jamie only grinned back. He quirked an eyebrow as they drew closer to the vultures standing guard on the school steps.

"Care to prove yourself?" What the hell had gotten into Jamie today? Scarlett pressed one hand to his forehead.

"Are you okay? Do you have a fever? I think you hit your head in your sleep again." Jamie's cheeks colored slightly and Scarlett relaxed. That was the Jamie she knew.

"I was eight. It's time to let that go, Scar." Scarlett shook her head with a wide grin.

"No way in hell." They approached the steps and were immediately blocked by Shannon and Delilah. Both girls were smiling, but their eyes showed fury. Honestly, Scarlett had never understood that rage. If the guy—or girl—you liked was with someone new, what was the point in getting pissed off?

Besides, nine times out of ten, the offended party had never made a move in the first place to indicate that they wanted to be the person in question.

Shannon tilted her head to one side.

"Well, aren't you two just the cutest thing Beacon Hills has ever seen?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice. Scarlet being Scarlett…and her dad's daughter…couldn't resist a little comment.

"Pretty sure that award goes to my parents, actually," she said, returning Shannon's smile. Shannon's face froze on her current expression. Delilah was just glaring at Scarlett. After a few moments of silence, Delilah spoke up.

"I knew there was something going on with you two. How long has it been going on, huh? Since you and I were dating?" Delilah turned to Jamie. Jamie frowned and shook his head.

"It's a pretty recent thing," he murmured. Scarlett helped him out…well, tried.

"Jamie's not the cheating kind, Delilah. You know that." It probably wasn't the best decision to speak. Delilah immediately switched her glare back to Scarlett, eyes going narrow. Her next words were spoken with an alarming amount of venom.

"I don't think anyone invited you to speak, Whore." The drop of a pin could've been heard in the silence that followed. It seemed like none of the girls dared to even breathe. Jamie had straightened to his full height. Scarlett often forgot how big and intimidating her puppy of a best friend could be.

"I think you owe her an apology," Jamie said quietly and carefully. Scarlett side-eyed him. His face was expressionless, but Scarlett knew that face. She hadn't seen it since they were kids and a classmate had made fun of Scarlett for something she couldn't even remember. That face meant danger. Delilah seemed not to notice it.

"Like hell I do. She's nothing more than a skanky b—"

Delilah broke off when Jamie took a step closer to her.

"Go ahead. Finish your sentence. I'd love to hear it." Scarlett's gaze flickered between Delilah's and Jamie's faces. She determined that it wasn't quite the time to intervene yet. She did, however, have a feeling that the moment would be coming soon.

"Come on, Jamie. She's obviously—"

Jamie scowled. It wasn't an expression that Scarlett was overly familiar with and it looked odd on his face.

"Scarlett is my best friend. She's funny and smart and everything you could ever want in any person, ever. You, on the other hand…" he trailed off, giving Delilah a moment to let the situation sink in.

"You are a spoiled little girl who has nothing better to do with her life than stalk her ex-boyfriend and the girl he's known all his life. You want to talk about her or mess with her, you go through me." Okay, so maybe intervention time was now. Scarlett gripped Jamie's arm and tugged at it.

"Let's go, Jamie. She's not worth it," she muttered. Jamie looked at her, no longer scowling, but not smiling either.

"You are."

Scarlett swallowed and fought against her racing pulse. She tugged on his arm again and he nodded. He looked back at Shannon and Delilah.

"Leave her alone. Leave me alone. I don't know how to make it any clearer than this—I want absolutely, one hundred percent, nothing to do with any of you." He shoved his way past the girls, purposely knocking his shoulder into them before pulling Scarlett through the crowd.

The minute they were inside, he went back to normal.

"Are you okay?" Jamie asked quietly, still holding onto her hand.

"Are you okay? Really, Jamie. You're not…acting like you. It's kind of worrying," Scarlett admitted. He shot her a lopsided smile.

"I'm fine, Scar. You're my best friend. You protect me—I protect you. That's how it works." She supposed that was true enough. She'd once beaten a guy up for daring to bully Jamie. After that, no one dared go near him with ill intent.

She still watched him in Chemistry, watching him for signs of anything wrong. He had seemingly gone back to normal, teasing her when he caught her looking at him. After about half the class, she relaxed, satisfied that Jamie was alright.

The other half of the class was spent replaying the kiss that morning and how her heart had pounded. She was almost one hundred percent sure that normal best friends didn't have racing pulse rates when they kissed…or kissed to begin with. Scarlett chewed on the tip of her thumb in thought. She didn't know what was wrong with her. Jamie had gotten protective of her before, though it had been years since it had happened.

All the signs were pointing to the idea that she was romantically attracted to Jamie. James Isaac McCall. Her best friend. Jake and Travis hadn't made her pulse race like that and with Andy it had been more of a pleasant hum. Jamie put them all to shame.

Jamie was a great guy. He was nice, polite, funny and smart and he genuinely cared about her. He wasn't exactly lacking in the looks department, either, though that didn't matter all that much. It was fairly easy to see why half the girls in school were obsessing over him.

The only work in Calculus was review for the test on Friday, so Scarlett continued to think on the subject there. She thought of her parents' romance and compared it to her past relationships. There was really no use in comparing them. Pops and Dad hadn't been afraid to go near each other—in their relationship anyway. Before that was a different story. Nor had either of them cheated on the other. In all honesty, Dad and Pops' relationship with each other was fairly similar to her own with Jamie.

Her parents teased each other all the time and had a solid friendship in addition to marriage and a family. Scarlett and Jamie also teased each other all the time and she'd never before seen a more solid friendship than theirs. They'd had their first kiss together and weren't exactly hesitant to do it again.

Scarlett laid her head down on her desk with a silent groan. She liked Jamie. There was no doubt in her mind. And, naturally, she supposed Jamie likely thought of them only as friends. She propped her chin up on her hand, remembering her early thoughts.

There was no way of knowing if she didn't tell him. And Jamie was such a sweet guy that they could probably go right back to being friends if he didn't feel the same way about her.

The school day ended and Scarlett went out to her car to wait for Jamie, stretching and tossing her keys up in the air before catching them again. After about five minutes, he showed up.

"Jeez, Jamie. It's about time," she teased. Jamie groaned.

"Mrs. Crowe kept us after the bell because some idiot wouldn't shut the hell up." Scarlett grimaced in sympathy.

"Hey, you mind if we make a stop before I drop you off at your house?" she asked. Jamie frowned but shook his head.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"My house." Jamie looked confused.

"What? Why? Damn it, did I leave something there again?" he asked, making a face. Scarlett rolled her eyes.

"You always leave things at my house, Jamie. But no, that's not why we're going. Just be patient. You'll find out in about ten minutes." Jamie eyed her suspiciously, but shrugged and let it go, humming along to the tune playing on the radio.

Scarlett parked in front of her house and immediately started pulling Jamie in the direction of the woods.

"Oh God. This is it, isn't it? This is the day you murder me and bury me in the woods. Where's your shovel?" Scarlett huffed in amusement.

"I'm not about to go serial killer on you. I just have to tell you something." Jamie was quiet after that. Finally, Scarlett reached the area she was looking for—the clearing where they'd had their first kiss.

"Scar?" Jamie said quietly, confusion twisting his features. Scarlett thought for a moment on how to handle this and decided that direct as the best option.

"I like you," she said bluntly. Jamie blinked slowly, looking at her like she was crazy.

"I like you too," he responded. Scarlett groaned.

"No, I mean…"

How should she put it?

"You mean you like me like you liked Jake and Travis and Andy," he said quietly. Scarlett nodded. Jamie's lips quirked.

"I repeat—I like you too." Scarlett paused for a second before grinning and throwing her arms around him in a hug. Jamie chuckled.

"If all it took for you to feel this way was for me to stand my ground a little, I would've done it years ago," he joked. Scarlett laughed. Then she gave him a sly smile.

"I believe you said something about proving myself?" she said, raising her eyebrows. Jamie laughed loudly.

"Bring it on."

Scarlett grabbed the collar of his shirt, wrapped her had in it and yanked him down so that he was on her level before pressing her lips sweetly to his. She waited a few moments before deepening the kiss, Jamie huffing a laugh across her lips. Scarlett laughed back at him and tackled him to the ground.

"How was that?" she asked, holding her head high and grinning. Jamie shrugged.

"Could use some work," he teased. Scarlett shoved at his shoulders in mock-outrage and ended up laughing when he tickled her.

She wasn't in love, not yet.

But damn if she wasn't close to it.

 **A/N:** I apologize for the lack of Sterek. I originally planned for a big scene with the whole family, but their anniversary and the kids absolutely needing to be gone from the house was too tempting.

Hope you liked it :)


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